The present invention relates to wireless power supply systems, and more particularly to a system for wirelessly charging an electronic device.
With continued growth in the use of battery-operated portable electronic devices, there are increasing concerns about the problems associated with conventional battery chargers. Battery-operated portable electronic devices are often provided with a battery charger for use in recharging the batteries. Many conventional battery chargers include a power cord that plugs into a power input port on an electronic device. The design of the battery charger, including power specifications and plug configuration, typically varies from device to device such that a battery charger of one device is not likely to operate properly in charging the batteries of another device. Accordingly, a user with multiple electronic devices is required to maintain and store a variety of different battery chargers. The cords of conventional corded battery chargers are unsightly and have a tendency to become tangled both alone and with cords of other chargers. Corded chargers are also relatively inconvenient because a user is required to plug and unplug the cord each time the device is charged.
To overcome these and other problems associated with corded battery chargers, there is a growing trend toward the use of wireless charging systems for charging batteries in portable electronic devices. Wireless charging systems offer a number of advantages. For example, they eliminate the unsightly mess created by a collection of charger cords and eliminate the need for users to plug and unplug the device from the charger.
Although wireless charging systems can be a marked improvement over wired chargers, they continue to suffer from some inconveniences. For example, due to limitations inherent in their nature of batteries, conventional battery chargers charge at a relatively slow rate. As a result, a device that has exhausted its battery must remain on the charger for a relatively long period before it is capable of further use. The inability to use a device for an extended period while it remains on the charger can be a significant inconvenience.